Commercial playground slides are playground staples. You shouldn't put up a playground without these. Commercial playground slides are fun playground equipment that can accommodate a lot of users at a time. These are also relatively easy to maintain, as long as you keep to Australian Standards guidelines and implement regular inspections.

Here are a few basics to remember when installing commercial playground slides. There are several types of slides. A general set of guidelines applies to all, while there are additional guidelines for tunnel, rollers and wave slides:

1. First of the basic guidelines is the height of your slides. This should not go beyond 2.5 meters from the ground. At this height, an adult can still supervise younger sliders. At the same time, children are less prone to grave accidents.

2. Freestanding commercial playground slides should always come with ladders or stairways. These ladders and stairways should have proper handrails.

3. For slides intended for children with disabilities, there should be a ramp leading to the top of the slide that's accessible from ground level. This should abide by the standards set in AS 1428 Part 3. This ramp should have protective barriers installed to prevent wheelchairs from falling off. The sitting surface of these slides should not go beyond 500 mm.

4. The sit-down section located at the top of commercial playground slides should at least be 350 mm wide. It should have a maximum slant of 5 degrees. This should always be a part of the slide construction, even when the slide is attached to a platform.

5. The slide bed should have a minimum contact width of 350 mm.

6. Commercial playground slides should have handrails or grabrails at the sit-down section of the slide.

7. It is important for the slide surface to be smooth and continuous. This ensures that children won't get snagged and hurt during a slide.

8. The width of sliding surfaces should at least be 350 mm for straight slides. For curved or helical slides, the width should not go beyond 700 mm.

9. Slide angles should not go beyond 60 degrees.

10. Tunnel slides and other similar slides should ensure that their internal fasteners are not hazards to slide users.

Remember that while commercial playground slides are easy to maintain, these are activity centers in typical playgrounds, and thus are prone to accidents. As playground owner or manager, you should do everything to ensure that your slides are within suggested safe standards.